Daniel Islander wins seat on City Council

Mallard beats Bleecker in District 11

Mallard beats Bleecker in District 11

Charleston City Council will welcome its first member from Daniel Island following Tuesday's win by Gary White, while challenger Tim Mallard unseated two-term Councilwoman Anne Frances Bleecker.

With all precincts reporting, White won 55 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. The vice president for community banking at Wachovia, White said he plans to work to secure funding to complete Governor's Park on Daniel Island, work with the police department to assist federal immigration authorities in cracking down on illegal immigration and improve regional planning.

"In Charleston you can't do anything without affecting your neighbors," said White, who has a master's degree in business administration from The Citadel.

"You have to have a regional plan. It is critical for the success of our city moving forward."

White lost in most precincts but his overwhelming win on Daniel Island, where he lives and carried the vote by a 813-68 margin, sealed his victory.

When City Council meets in January, there will be no representative from south of Broad Street for the first time in memory, although Mayor Joe Riley lives in that neighborhood.

Tyrone Walker
The Post and Courier

Stephen Griffith, left, congratulates Tim Mallard for his victory in the City Council District 11 on Tuesday, at Triangle Grill in West Ashley.

In District 11, Mallard beat the incumbent Bleecker with 63 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting in the hotly contested race for the district serving Johns Island and parts of West Ashley and James Island.

Mallard, an industrial real estate broker with Colliers Keenan, pledged during the campaign to work to attract jobs and prevent taxes from going up. On Tuesday, he also said he planned to focus on tackling crime, improving traffic and controlling growth.

"I am so humbled that the folks have put their trust in me to represent them," he said. "The suburbs need a voice, and I am that voice."

Incumbent Councilman James Lewis Jr. held onto his District 3 seat with slightly more than 50 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting, beating out rivals Erika Harrison who won 42 percent of the vote and Luqman S. Rasheed who garnered 7 percent.

Lewis, who has served on council since 1995, has often focused on improving public safety and increasing affordable housing for the district that runs up the center of the Charleston peninsula. He said Tuesday that he also wants to switch Charleston's form of government from a strong mayor to a city manager.

"Crime is the most important issue in everyone's life," said Lewis, who is a frozen-food and dairy manager at the Meeting Street Piggly Wiggly. "If you don't have a safe street, safe community or if you don't feel safe in your home, then you don't want to live in a community."

Louis "Lou" Waring, the incumbent councilman for District 7, won 56 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting, beating out rivals Francina "Fran" Herne who garnered 26 percent of the vote and Willard J. Sheppard who received 18 percent.

Waring, a retired businessman who has served on council since 1994, has worked to create more-affordable housing and eliminate drainage problems over the years for the district that includes West Ashley.

In District 5, which includes the Charleston Neck Area, incumbent Councilman Jimmy S. Gallant III beat opponent Leroy N. Connor, winning 72 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting. Gallant, first elected in 1999, is an assistant priest at Christ Episcopal Church in Mount Pleasant.

One of the reasons he has cited for seeking re-election is that he can play a role in the big developments that could shape his community, including the 4,400-home Magnolia development now planned for the Neck Area.

Aubry Alexander, who ran unopposed, will replace retiring Councilman Paul Tinkler to lead District 9, which covers the northeastern corner of West Ashley. Alexander is a real estate broker.

Charleston Water System Commissioner William E. Koopman Jr. also won an unopposed election to the utility's board of directors.

Reach James Scott at 745-5855 or at jscott@postandcourier.com.